This manual is a practical training guide for graduate and undergraduate research assistants (RAs) working in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. It may also be applicable to research assistants working in other fields or institutions. The purpose of this manual is to train RAs on how to plan and conduct focus groups for…

The National Reporting System (NRS) is the accountability system for the federally funded, State-administered adult education program. It addresses the accountability requirements of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA-P.L.105-220). This document presents (1) the NRS measures that allow…

This discussion constructs a survey data quality strategy for institutional researchers in higher education in light of total survey error theory. It starts with describing the characteristics of institutional research and identifying the gaps in literature regarding survey data quality issues in institutional research and then introduces the…

From the perspective of doctoral students and instructors, we explain a developmental, interactive process based upon the Checklist for Qualitative Data Collection, Data Analysis, and Data Interpretation (Onwuegbuzie, 2010) for students' writing assignments regarding: (a) the application of conceptual knowledge for collecting, analyzing, and…

This guide is designed to help researchers make sure that their research reports include enough information about study measures so that readers can assess the quality of the study's methods and results. The guide also provides examples of write-ups about measures and suggests resources for learning more about these topics. The guide assumes…

The exponential increase in the availability of microcomputers will have a tremendous impact on educational research. Already, the microcomputer has provided the key to the solution of some previously overwhelming methodological problems. It has enabled investigators to conduct exciting new lines of research while creating more general…

Provides data defensibility guidance for field samplers, laboratory personnel and project managers, and a checklist for planning and verification stages of the data generation process. (MDH)

When different individuals operating in different contexts implement similar innovations, they approach the various parts of the innovation in different ways. When assessed according to the research procedures used to study innovation implementation at the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin,…

The purpose of this technical report is to summarize the research methodology of the Novice Teacher Study (NTS) strand of the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) research. The Ohio TQP embarked on a series of research studies to learn more about the characteristics of effective teachers and to identify the patterns of teacher performance in both…

The Hawkins-Stafford Education Improvement Amendments of 1988 established the National Cooperative Education Statistics System and directed the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics to support the development and implementation of standards for education data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting. The Cooperative…

The purpose of this guide is to provide local Head Start program decision-makers with a tool that will be useful in developing needs assessments appropriate to their communities, whether urban or rural. Although the guide focused on community needs assessments for planning mainstream services for children with handicapping conditions, its…

Describes a checklist for the implementation of a collaborative model for conducting field-based research. It is designed to assist university personnel in implementing quantitative single-subject research investigations in field-based settings with classroom teachers, practicum students, or related service personnel implementing the intervention…

The Learning in Science Project (1979-1981) studied the problems and difficulties of learning science at the 10-14 year old level in New Zealand to provide insights into the world of the science learner and provide an alternative perspective of the science classroom to that currently held by teachers and others. This paper offers practical…

General research designs and procedures, special methods applicable to libraries and media centers, and research techniques from educational technology are discussed in this guide to research applications in the school media center. Topics covered include the nature of the research process; the identification and definition of researchable…

An instrument used to assess educational environments for computers as new tools for teaching and learning was studied in grades 2, 3, and 4 of the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools (APS) in May 1990. The instrument contained 46 items indexing: (1) the immediate and expanded spaces for the computer stations; (2) the presence of software and…